


What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World

by zoetropes



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, F/F, Oneshot, the name is inspired by an album by The Decemberists which also inspired this fic, theyre just very gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 05:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8832370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoetropes/pseuds/zoetropes
Summary: Sansa is fifteen and tired in a hot suburban summer. Margaery is the new girl in town, whose curiosity is piqued by the unusual redhead to likes to daydream and skip stones in the river. Together, maybe they can find a way to survive the lonely lazy days of July.





	

**Author's Note:**

> "Gray Jane was a riverchild  
> Born down by the river wild  
> Said, hey, what I wanna be  
> Nobody's gonna intervene
> 
> And she wants you but you won't do  
> And it won't leave you alone"

The water trembled, a loose current twirling beneath the surface. It was dark and more green than blue and it sloped down at a dangerous away from the bank, but Sansa loved it anyways. Maybe the danger was what drew her to the river in the first place. She kicked off her flip-flop onto the mossy slab of rock she was perched on, and lowered a tentative toe into the water. It breached the surface delicately, and a shiver ran up her foot, her leg, her side, into her brain. The water was icy cold, even in the middle of July. She felt her foot sink in more and more, and it froze to that not-quite numb level of pain. She wiggled her toes under the clear surface and felt the water push her foot, grab it, dance with it, needy and desperate and lonely. It clung to her, an old friend, reconnecting.

  
“Hey there,” she whispered to it, leaning to stare at her own reflection. A lock of red hair tumbled over her shoulder and stopped to hang an inch above the water. Her eyes gazed back up at her, waving in the current. They looked tired.

  
“Hey yourself,” came a voice from behind her.

Sansa saw the girl a moment before she heard her, caught a glimpse of another face in the reflection. At first she thought it was some kind of fairy, some spirit of the water come to haunt her or maybe hold her. But then the girl’s words registered and Sansa realized she was just that: a girl.

Sansa whirled around, the little hairs on the back of her neck bristling at the thought of the unknown figure behind her. “Wh—“ She slipped halfway in her turn on the moss, wet from the lapping of the river. She felt her silk skirt slide on the slick green, and in a moment of panic she was sure she was going to fall into the river, but then another hand was in hers, pale and surprisingly strong, pulling her forwards.

The girl grabbed Sansa’s hand with both of her own, braced herself against the dry edge of the rock, and pulled Sansa before she could fall farther down the bank. Sansa toppled forward, back onto dry land, landing on her hands and knees. She looked up, gasping.

“Who are you?” Sansa demanded, scrambling to her feet and wiping the mud off her knees. It came less easily off her skirt.

The girl looked surprised. “What, no thank you?”

Sansa grabbed her flip-flop and ungraciously shoved it back on her foot. “What for? You made me fall.”

The girl laughed, a laugh like wind chimes or blooming flowers or a sprinkling of rain. “I’m Margaery.” She stuck her hand out.

Sansa eyed the peace offering, then reluctantly shook it. Like she’d noticed before, the girl’s grip was surprisingly strong, although her wrist was so small Sansa could have wrapped her forefinger and thumb around it and touched ends. “I’m Sansa,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

Margery relinquished her grip and gazed at Sansa with a sparkle in her eyes. “I like to take walks when I’m feeling stressed. How ‘bout you?”

“I come here when I want to be alone,” Sansa said pointedly. Margaery was quiet for a few moments after that, and Sansa felt an odd twisting in her stomach that compelled her to say, “I guess that makes two of us?”

Margaery laughed again, that delightful laugh that made Sansa feel an odd way. “I’m new in town. That’s why you haven’t seen me before.”

“How do you know I haven’t seen you? Maybe I’ve seen you around town. You don’t know,” Sansa said, fighting and losing against the instinct to be obstinate.

“Well, all I know is I sure hadn’t seen you,” Margaery said.

Sansa looked at her with searching, distrustful eyes. “Yeah?”

Margaery shrugged. “I’d have remembered if I’d seen you before.”

Sansa blushed, not knowing how to respond to that. “Um.” She rubbed her hand uncomfortably on the back of her neck, and decided to switch topics. “I’m a freshman. Or, I guess I’m gonna be sophomore in September. Trying not to think about school.”

“Me too.” Margaery grinned at her, and, although the brunette was shorter by nearly half a foot, Sansa felt small somehow under her gaze. “My brother’s gonna be a senior and he’s sort of freaking out.”

“Wow, a senior in a new school?” Sansa furrowed her brow. “Why’d you move?”

Margaery kept her smile up, but Sansa could see something else behind her eyes. “We came to live with my grandma. My mom… passed away. Dad’s been kind of a mess since. He’s useless, really. Gran’s gonna take care of us.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sansa said, frowning at the girl. What to say when a stranger shares their grief with you?

“’S fine,” Margaery shrugged, shoving her hands in her jean pockets and kicking at a loose stone. She struck it hard with the toe of her sneaker and it arced through the air and into the water with a little splash.

Sansa chewed the inside of her mouth for a moment, then turned away and crouched, looking for something on the rocky bank.

“What are you doing?”

“Here.” Sansa stood and pressed a smooth, flat stone into Margaery’s hands. The connection was almost electric, and Sansa drew away quickly, her heart racing. “It’s for skipping. You know how?”

Margaery shook her head. “Show me.”

“Here.” Sansa positioned herself so she was standing behind Margaery, and tentatively wrapped her arms around the smaller girl’s, holding both hands in her own. “Like, you sort of grab it like—“

“Like this?” Margaery adjusted her grip and looked up to the side at Sansa, smiling.

“Yeah, like that,” Sansa said very quietly, but she was smiling too. She snapped her gaze away, cleared her throat. “Now, stand sideways…” They shifted a little in their awkward position. “And try flicking your wrist when you throw it, you want it to spin counterclockwise. Think of it like pitching a baseball; that’s what my dad taught me. Right, there you go… now just throw it!” Sansa let go of Margaery at the last minute so the girl could flick it across the water. The rock hit the surface at a slight angle and managed a single skip before plopping down to the depths of the river.

Sansa laughed, blushing, as Margaery turned back to her. “It’s not easy, especially not on a river. You did good for your first time.”

“One more skip than I’ve ever made before,” Margaery agreed. “Your dad taught you that?”

Sansa nodded. “He doesn’t really do much with me. Busy with work, and all. It’s hard with six kids. But he took me camping one weekend in Montana and he taught me this.” She swallowed.

“He sounds nice,” Margaery said. “Don’t know what my dad’s excuse is. There’s only the two of us, me and Loras, and he never taught me anything like that.”

Sansa shrugged awkwardly. “There’s other things that are important. I’m sure he cares about you. Did you know one time my dad took all the others on a trip and forgot about me until they were halfway to Florida? The only reason he took me camping was because he felt sorry for me.” She immediately regretted telling this to a near-stranger. It was just something about Margaery, something magnetic and enthralling, that made Sansa wonder if she really wasn’t some spirit of the river.

“I don’t feel sorry for you,” Margaery said.

“Why not?”

“I think you’re too strong to pity.” Margaery looked up at the sky, at the sun starting to grow orange and lower over the lake. “I’ve got to go.”

“Wait! Not yet, it’s not dark out yet,” Sansa protested.

“No, it's not,” Margaery said with a smile. Sansa cocked her head, against mystified by this girl. “I’ll see you later, Sansa.”

“Wait,” Sansa repeated. “Wait, I don’t even know where you live, how will I—“ But Margaery’s back was already to her, making her way off on the path to the road. “Dammit,” Sansa swore, staring after her. Who was she? And why was she so… beautiful?

**Author's Note:**

> thanks you for reading <33 i like how this is turned out. leave comments if you have input or suggestions or anything, i love interactions with the readers :)


End file.
